Soccer By Ives

MLS Cup 2008: Red Bulls, Crew make opening remarks

It isn't quite like Super Bowl hype, but the long week of MLS Cup talk started on Monday with a pair of media conference calls featuring the coaches and a select player from both the New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew.

On the Red Bulls side was Juan Carlos Osorio and wunderkind Danny Cepero, while the Crew was represented by Sigi the Scarf and the ageless wonder, Frankie Hejduk.

Nothing spectacular happened, no bulletin board material (that's probably the only part of Dane Richards' call-up to the Jamaican National Team that makes Juan Carlos Osorio happy). But there were a few highlights and we've got them here.

Schmid was particularly engaging, cracking a few jokes during the Crew's call.

On his return triumphant return to Los Angeles

For me, personally, there's for sure a special feeling with the game being played at the Home Depot Center. I can't deny that. Being able to come back to Los Angeles is also great. In that regard, that means that I've got to come up with a lot of tickets for a lot of people.

Red Bulls 1, Real Salt Lake 0: A Look Back

                                                                                    Photo by ISIphotos.com

Two days have passed, heart rates have returned to normal and all remaining remnants of smoke bombs and nerve-racking suspense have faded into the memory banks, and Saturday's Western Conference final victory by the Red Bulls over Real Salt Lake still brings a chill as you think about a game not many will forget.

There has been plenty said about the Red Bulls victory and I wanted to go over some of it, while also providing some details of that chilly day in Sandy, Utah. You saw two teams battle bravely, chances missed by inches, free kicks taken with smoke bombs making the 18-yard box look like a war zone, and some of the most exciting drama MLS has ever seen.

No, it wasn't beautiful. There were no offensive clinics put on, but the beautiful thing about The Beautiful Game is that there is value and beauty in all its forms. The footage from Saturday's West final won't be showing in an art gallery any time soon, but you also won't have an easy time duplicating its drama, suspense and emotion.

Here are some observations and notes from Saturday's Western Conference final:

What USA lineup would you like to see vs. Guatemala?

                                                           Photo by ISIphotos.com

The last World Cup qualifier of the year for the U.S. men's national team is two days away, meaning the last chance for U.S. fans to see some of the team's younger prospects, as well as a chance to see some veteran faces back in the mix.

The game won't be an easy one as Guatemala enters needing a victory and some help to reach the Hexagonal round of qualifying. It should provide a good test for this group of players:

• GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan, Troy Perkins, Matt Pickens
• DEFENDERS: Jonathan Bornstein, Sean Franklin, Cory Gibbs, Clarence Goodson, Drew Moor, Michael Parkhurst
• MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu, Davy Arnaud, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan, Pablo Mastroeni, John Thorrington
• FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Brian Ching, Kenny Cooper, Chris Rolfe

So what lineup might we see on Wednesday? Here is one possible combination you could see against Guatemala:

EPL Week 13: A Look Back

Heurelho Gomes is a very good goalkeeper.

No, really, he is.

Okay, so maybe anybody will have a hard time believing that given some of the Brazilian goalkeeper's mistakes since joining Tottenham from PSV Eindhoven last summer. It was easier to ignore those mistakes when he was just one of many players underachieving. Now, with Tottenham showing signs of life, Gomes' mistakes are even more magnified.

A Gomes' blunder helped Fulham knock off the Spurs and slow down the Harry Redknapp Revolution, at least for a week. No such stopping the league's powers, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United, which all cruised. Arsenal tumbled yet again, leaving Arsene Wenger to scratch his head at his enigmatic squad.

SBI EPL correspondent James Tyler of The Unprofessional Foul gives us his take on Tottenham's tumble, as well as the rest of the weekend's action in the English Premier League:

Van den Bergh is Red Bulls Mr. Consistency

                                                   Photo by ISIphotos.com

On the roller coaster that has been the New York Red Bulls most memorable season ever, there has been one constant – Dave van den Bergh. The Dutch midfielder is second on the team with eight goals, including the game-winning strike in the 28th minute to lift the Red Bulls to a 1-0 win against Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Final Saturday night.

“He has been magnificent for us,” Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said.

While the Red Bulls have battled all kinds of adversity – from star forward Jozy Altidore being sold to Villarreal, designated player Claudio Reyna retiring to the performance-enhancing drug suspensions of starters Jon Conway and Jeff Parke – van den Bergh never wavered.

Seemingly every cross from the left side is a dangerous one and when the club was without Altidore, Reyna and Juan Pablo Angel, who battled injuries in the first half of the season, van den Bergh was the team’s best player.

“He’s just got a great sense of when there’s going to be a chance,” John Wolyniec said. “For a flank player he just has an incredible instinct of where the ball is going to end up. When it’s there and he’s there he does a great job of finishing it.”

Your Questions Answered (Part 5 of 5)

                                                                      Photo by ISIphotos.com

Good morning and welcome to the latest installment of Your Questions Answered. It took a long time, but I finally finished off the last Q&A session, from October, and have those remaining answers for you today.

There were some good topics to discuss, such as ranking the Top 10 American goalkeepers, as well as my All-Time Best XI for currently retired U.S. national team players.

Now that these have finally been completed, look out for another Q&A this week. probably on Thursday. I will need to cut down on the number of questions I take because the numbers of questions are keeping me from answer them all in a timely manner.

Now, on to the answers to the rest of your most recent questions:

Altidore and Adu headline 20-man USA roster for Guatemala qualifier

                                                               Photo by ISIphotos.com

Jozy Altidore, Kenny Cooper and Freddy Adu headline a roster of 20 players called in for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Guatemala at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Here is the squad:

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan, Troy Perkins, Matt Pickens

DEFENDERS: Jonathan Bornstein, Sean Franklin, Cory Gibbs, Clarence Goodson, Drew Moor, Michael Parkhurst

MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu, Davy Arnaud, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan, Pablo Mastroeni, John Thorrington

FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Brian Ching, Kenny Cooper, Chris Rolfe

Some of the new faces include MLS rookie of the year Sean Franklin, Chicago Fire midfielder John Torrington and Mr. Fan Favorite himself, Kenny Cooper.

Colorado striker Conor Casey also gets a well-earned nod after finishing the MLS season strongly. Casey and Rapids teammate Cory Gibbs join Pablo Mastroeni in the contingent of Colorado players who could play in front of their home fans.

What do you think of this group? Who are you looking forward to see play? We'll save lineup projections for Monday. For now just share your thoughts on the roster in the comments section below.

Luck and its role in the Red Bulls dream run

Here we stand, a day after one of the exciting, heart-stopping and unforgettable playoff games in MLS history and there are plenty of people, both Red Bulls fans and neutrals, who are still scratching their heads at the improbability of the Red Bulls earning a place in the MLS Cup final.

Notice that word, earning. Whether you're one of those "they didn't deserve to be in the playoffs people" or not, you can't really argue with the fact that the Red Bulls endured and overcame an incredible amount of adversity to reach this point.

I will offer a more thorough breakdown of the match, as well as some behind-the-scenes notes on Monday (two cross-country flights in 30 hours have wiped me out), but for now I wanted to discuss the role that luck played in last night's Red Bulls victory:

Soccer Sunday: Your Running Commentary

Good morning folks. Today is a relatively light day for soccer on TV, but what the schedule lacks in total games it makes up for in quality of match-up.

You have the Rome Derby, the Lyon-Bordeaux tilt and an intriguing Man City-Hull City clash.

Here is the full schedule of games today:

• 8:25am- Setanta- Middlesbrough at Everton
• 9am- FSC- Chievo at AC Milan
• 11am- FSC- Manchester City at Hull City
• 11am- GolTV- Villarreal at Malaga
• 12:55pm- Telemundo- San Luis at Toluca
• 2:30pm- FSC- Lazio at Roma
• 2:45pm- Setanta- Bordeaux at Lyon
• 3pm- GolTV- Barcelona at Recreativo Huelva
• 5pm- GolTV- Santa Fe at Junior
• 5pm- Setanta USA- Club America at Necaxa
• 7pm- Setanta- Nacional at Danubio

For those of you looking for some post-game analysis and more stories from the New York Red Bulls 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in last night's Western Conference final, there will be plenty of analysis and interviews coming this afternoon so stay tuned for that.

For now, enjoy today's soccer and if you will be watching today's games please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Red Bulls heading to MLS Cup

After 13 mostly disappointing and sometimes painful years of existence, the New York Red Bulls, the club formerly known as the MetroStars, are headed to the MLS Cup final for the first time in club history.

As you might expect, getting there was as far from easy as you could get. The Red Bulls scored early and defended well and eventually held on for dear life as Real Salt Lake attacked in waves as the home team searched for an equalizer. Diving saves from Danny Cepero, missed wide-open chances and three different shots hitting the post were all RSL had to show from an all-out blitz on the Red Bulls goal.

Ultimately, it was Dave Van Den Bergh's goal, his third in three matches against Real Salt Lake this season, that provided the difference in a Western Conference final for the ages.

Now the Red Bulls will complete their improbable playoff run in the MLS Cup final against the Columbus Crew next Sunday at Home Depot Center.

What did you think of the match? Was it the most nerve-racking 90 minutes of your life? Can you believe this team has come together and gone on this type of run? Do you think the Red Bulls have anything left to win the MLS Cup final? Did all those near-misses make you start believing that this just might be a team of destiny?

Share your thoughts below.

Alexi Lalas: Bad GM, worse prognosticator

For the second straight playoff game, former Los Angeles Galaxy/San Jose/New York Red Bulls general manager Alexi Lalas went on ESPN and stated very confidently that the Red Bulls wouldn't have much of a chance and would lose in the MLS playoffs, first to Houston, and then to Real Salt Lake.

He was wrong on both counts.

Several Red Bulls pointed this out on Saturday night, and some were praying he would be picking Columbus in the MLS Cup final.

Many were just hoping he would shut up.